Water heater



Aug. 30, 1949. c. D. JONES 2,480,657

WATER HEATER Filed Feb. 17, 1944 l M 1 1 I I i i I, 1 21 I l I I? I l I H l I I II I lz I M 15 37 h l l 14 35 33 ii- 38 g: :5 30 t 28 fl 27 l l r 42 lll lllllk "ll ML l3 i Z INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 3 1 M ssif}- 1 W E E T- 331 Chester -Jbp s yiia, assent to .Laiv

son Manufacturing Company,

. a corporation o'f Pennsylvania Pittsburgh; .la.,

' ApplicationfFebruary 17, 1944, Serial No.'52 2 ,-746 i .This invention relates generally to domestic water heaters which employ liquid :orrgaseous fuel burners and more particularlynto domestic water heatershaving a submerged: combustion chamber wherein the flame is not in directcona tact with the liquid. The principal object of this invention is the provision of a closed domestic water tank having a substantially horizontally disposed combustion chamber connected to an upright fluethat passes up through the water in the tank and is vented at the top. L

Another object is the provision ofa horizontally disposed combustion chamber adjacent the .bottom of a closed water tank and which is .vented by a flue passing up through thewater tank.

Another object is theprovisionofan L-shaped combustion chamber and flue submerged within a closed water tank ofa domestic water heater and wherein the burner opening of the combustion chamber is disposed at ahigher elevation thanthe inner'end of the combustion chamber for the purpose of collecting and retaining'com, densation which is subsequently evaporated when the heater is warmed up.

Another'object is the provision of a horizon-e tally disposed combustion chamber for a domestic water heater having a sump to entrap and retain the moisture condensed fromthe products of combustion until it is removed by evaporation.

Another object is the provision of a domestic water heater having an enclosed horizontally dis! posed combustion chamber integrally connected to a vertically disposed flue that passes up through the tank of the water heater from whence it is vented. 1 Another object is the provision of a domestic water heater tank having an enclosed and-horizontally disposed combustion chamber connected to a vertical flue passing up through thetank'and a burner producing a horizontally disposed cylindrical flame for substantiallythe-tfull length-of the; combustion chamber. w Another object isthe provision of an improved and highly efiicient domestic water heater. 7, Another object is the provision ofan enclosed water heater having a fully submerged flue and combustion chamber, the length of the flue being at least twice the length of the combustion chamber.

' Another object is the provision of a water heater having a combustion chamber-and a ring head burner arranged to limit the amount of secondary air admitted around the perimeter of the head to induce the flow of a suflicient amount of secondary 55 air through the centerrof the head to produce a hollow cylindrical flame that is-projected hori-g zontally into the combustion chamber.

Another object isthe provision of a water heat-- 1 A practical embodiment illustrating the princi ples ofthis invention is shown in the accompanying= drawing wherein: I

.-Fig.-1;is a-vertical section of the domestic water heater comprising-this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the water heater with a -portionshown in section.

3 is asectional view taken on the line 3 0 -F g.

4.1 F 4 is a modification of the structure of Fig. l v showing an enlarged sectional viewof a portion of the combustion chamber to illustrate the rela five-positions of the burner, the pilot light and the thermostat. r g 1 a I Referringprincipallyto Fig. :1 of the drawing, the domesticrwater heatercomprises the tank I!) closed at .;the top; and bottom by the heads I l and I2 andsupported by the circular base [3. The. base l3 also supports the outer shellor jacket 14 which inl ig. 1 concentric to and in spaced re-' lation-with the tank In to provide space for receiving insulatingmaterial; The insulating material would completely surround the tank It! as there is-space under thebottom head l2 and between the back wallv of the control chamber I 5 formed in-the frontof the shell M. The control chamber-J5 is enclosed by the cover- I'Bwhich arranged to snapintdplace and is readily removable.- The cover I6 is .open at the bottomto admit air, as indicated by the arrows. 7

Water is admitted to the tank l0 through the pipe l-T which extends down into the tank and terminates adjacent the lower end thereof, as indicated inFigLl. Heated water is removed from the top of the tank through the pipe [8. -:-Th e combustion chamber 20 and flue 2| are tubu r m mb r we ed. t e et sta ll fore the bottom head l2-is attached and the end" of the flue 2| is welded to the head ll. end of the combustion chamber 20 is likewise welded to the side wall. The tank is then water tight and completely closed and the combustion chamber and flue are submerged. If the'angle between the combustion chamber nane the {hi9 2| is 90, as shown in Fig. 4, or greater, any condensation formed in the L-shaped membei 21, will 4 other end of the pilot valve is connected to the receiving end of the thermostat control 38. It will be noted that with this physical arrangement of the burner, pilot light and thermostat control the gas line is materially shortened, which is another important object in this invention.

A drain cock is located adjacent the bottom the contxol'chamber t5 adjacent the lower head The flue 2| is provided with the helical baflle member 43 which is dropped into position before the clown draft preventer 44 is secured to the top of the flue 2|. The bottom of the down draft preventer preferably slopes downwardly toward the mm and; the chimney connection 45 is somewhat higher. The down draft preventer 44 is f SQQLQQ the tQQQi the flue so that any moisrun out the front end of the combustion chamber 7 20, if the latter is horizontal, where it may drop" to the floor and be conveyed to a drain. However Fig. l the angle between the combustion chamber and the flue 2+ isapproximately 8'1 giving the former a 3--slope inwardly toward the flue; ihis slope is suffi'cient to form a sump or trap 24 inwhich condensation collects forming a small The burner is constructed forburning gas and is inverted because of the proximity e f the combustion chamber "20 to the floor. This arrangement provides severaladvantages. The burnerhead '26 is made in; the shape of a ring having radially projecting and annularlyspaced lugs 21 which center the ring in the end of the combustionchamber to limit the amount of Secondary air and to cause it to now completely around the head into the combustion chamber. The ring head 25 also has a'centr'al opening 28 forthe admission of secondary air and through which the pilot light 30 extends. The annular opening 3 I of the burner head through which-the gas is discharged is arranged to receive alternate corrugated and flat ribbons which are wound togetherand placed in the opening 3! and form the ports through which the gas flowsin passing out the'annular burner headopening 3D This type'o'f port is referred to as a ribbon gas port; The opening 3| of the burner ring head; Edie connected to the large end: of the Venturi tube 33; by the distribution box- 34. Thebell inlet chamber 35 is formed on the small or throat end of the Venturi tube 33 and is provided with the usual primary air shutter 36 and a transverse pipe 31; provided with a gas discharge port 32 disposed axially of the throat of the Venturi tube 33. Gas is supplied to the burnerpipefil throughthe thermostat valve 38 whichadmits gas to the burner when the temperature of the Water as measured by thefthermostat isless'than the predetermined setting of the thermostat control; The thermostat 40 is located adjacent the opening of the long inlet pipe l1. I

The gas is supplied through the gas line 4|; which passes from the back of the heaterunder the tank through the base l3 and extends up: wardly into the control chamber 5 and is gon e ed t and sfcs' hmeh the pilo ane 3. rromwhich the pilot light gas is tapped. The

ture that may collect in this portion of the apparatus will trickle down the flue 2! to the sump 24. A V-shaped bafile member 46 is placed in the down drafit' preventer between the flue 21 and the downwardly open-vent 41. The bafiie 46- diroots any downdraft from the chimney to the vent 4:! and thus prevents the draft from passing down the flue M where it may blow out the flame or pilot light. 7

The down draft preventer 44 and the inlet and outlet water pipes fl and W are all enclosed by the top48. 0 1 the "shell t4, which may also be packed with insulation, and these parts are thus protected and hidden from view when facing the front of the heater, as shown in Fig. 2.

' In Fig. 4 the combustion chamber is shown to be disposed 9.9 from the flue and the sump 2-4 is tamed by raising the front wall oft-he tank rel a tive to the back. This may be accomplished by placing a wedge 50 under the front edge of the tank whichholds the whole tank tilted on the base l3. The degreeof tilting does not vary the amount of insulation between the tank and its outer: shell enough to materially change the effect of the insulation around the tank, yetthe angle of tilting is suflici'ent to produce the sump 24 which collects and holds the condensation.

The sump Z4 collects and holds the condensation in the combustion chamber and the water is subsequently evaporated when the water in the tank and the L-shapedmember 23 become heated.

structure eliminates the necessity of providing a drip pan which in the ordinary hot water heaterof this character is remote from the heat and cannot be evaporated but must be emptied periodically or it. will drip on the floor.

The entire combustion chamber 28' and flue 2 l areimmersed the water of the tank It and the former is closely adjacent but spaced from the tupttom head l2- and thelatter from the back wall bf the tank. The onlyheat lost byconductime from the L-shaped' member is through'the annulan'welded joints between the legs 20* and 2t oi the L-shaped member 2-3 and the tank, which joints are'remote from the hottest portion of the L-sha member-.'-' This construction provides an efiicient heat transfer between the l -sh aped member and the water being heated and produces a highly efli-cient water heater. is an important object of this invention and tests have'p'rrven that this heater is more than twenty percent more emcient thanheaters of this class. The bf neralso contributes to this improved deficiency. The annularburner opening with the ports formed by the corrugated and flat ribbons produces a cylindrical flame that projects sub stantially the full length of the combustion chamher. This cylindrical flame is held in spaced relation from the wall of the combustion chamber by the flow of secondary air around the outside of the burner ring head 26 and the flame maintains this spacing and cylindrical shape regardless of the downward slope of the combustion chamber. The large central opening of the burner ring head maintains the cylindrical flame hollow and properly shaped for the full length thereof. When the lighted burner is not in the combustion chamber the flame tends to point which illustrates the function of the central opening 28. The shape and location of the gas distribution box 34 aids in discharging the gas uniformly around the annular opening 3| of the burner head 26. Again the fact that the bell inlet chamber 35 opens upwardly in place of horizontally outward or downward improves the operation of the burner. The burner may be referred to as an inverted or down draft burner in view of the fact that the port. If the gas is shut off manually, the action is slow and the diminishing supply of the gas has less effect on the flash back and noise in any type of burner.

With the down draft or inverted burner the velocity of the remaining gas within the burner when shut off is impeded by the tendency of the gas to rise or flow away from the burner head and the natural draft is also impeded. Thus the remaining gas is retarded and thus provides the same effect as slowly turning off the gas manually and there is no flash back or noise produced. The ribbon gas port is also believed to contribute to this improvement. The ribbon gas port offers enough resistance to flow to induce small straight flames issuing from the annular burner opening. In comparison drilled burner ports offer a greater resistance to flow as there are fewer openings in a given area of the burner head. Thus the inverted Venturi has the tendency to induce a slight draft from the head to the mixing chamber when gas is not being discharged in the opposite direction. These factors also contribute to the eflicient operation of the heater and are important objects of this invention.

This heater produces a material gradation in. the temperature of the water from the vicinity of the combustion chamber to the top of the heater, the water at the top being the hottest. In the ordinary heater of this character there are only a few degrees difference in temperature. This fact, together with the proximity of the flue to the side wall of the tank, provides a liquid column therebetween that is heated to a higher temperature which induces a circulation of the water within the tank.

I claim:

1. In a water heater of the character described the combination of an enclosed water tank having inlet and outlet openings, a combustion chamber sloping downwardly from the side wall into the tank to form a sump for collecting and retaining condensation, a flue connected at its lower end to the inner portion of the combustion chamber and extending upwardly within the tank and through the upper wall thereof, the combustion chamber and flue being sealed with one another and with the walls of the tank where they pass therethrough.

2. In a water heater of the character described, the combination of an enclosed elongated Water tank having inlet and outlet openings, a combustion chamber and flue in the form of an L-shaped tubular member consisting of short and long sections connected in communication with one another, said L-shaped member being positioned within the tank with the long section disposed longitudinally and the transverse short section sloping downwardly from its free end forming a sump to collect and retain condensation, and means for securing the sections adjacent their free ends to the side and end walls of the tank to connect their bores to the exterior and support the L-shaped member immersed in the water within the tank.

3. In a water heater of the character described, the combination with an enclosed water heater tank having inlet and outlet openings for admitting and removing water therefrom, of an L-shaped member making up a combustion chamber and flue within the enclosed tank and having exterior openings for the supply of burning fuel and the removal of products of combustion, and means for supporting the tank to slope the combustion chamber downwardly and inwardly to form a sump for the collection of condensation.

4. The structure of claim 3 characterized in that the sections of the L-shaped member are disposed at right angles to one another.

CHESTER D. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 855,410 Oleson et al May 28, 1907 1,144,783 Rector June 29, 1915 1,790,454 Arrowsmith Jan. 27, 1931 1,871,108 Burnett Aug. 9, 1932 1,935,632 Handley Nov. 21, 1933 1,953,590 Cone Apr. 3, 1934 1,954,873 Gwathmey Apr. 17, 1934 1,995,934 Mangold Mar. 26, 1935 2,041,313 Winder May 19, 1936 2,226,816 Hepburn Dec. 31, 1940 2,251,111 Brown July 29, 1941 2,369,235 Jaros Feb. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 176,852 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1935 

